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Help me start my new bike shop

Old 10-21-09, 04:10 PM
  #1  
PlatyPius
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Help me start my new bike shop

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Old 10-21-09, 04:35 PM
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maybe it's just me, but i think i would like to see a bigass window showing some bikes if i were a customer. else, i might think it is a bit... shady? many of the bike shops i've been to are like that, so i might have a skewed pov. just me 2cent. gl man
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Old 10-21-09, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by PlatyPius
DePauw is very interested in helping me get a shop started.
What kind of help are they providing?

Originally Posted by PlatyPius
DePauw has a cycling team, plus they have Little 5 (their version of the Little 500 at IU). We have a rail-trail and other branches that lead to all of the schools here in town (existing or proposed). We will eventually, when it's completed, be on the National Road Heritage Trail, which will cross the state.
How many people are on the team? I think it make sense to support them (for exposure/advertising) but they probably won't be a big source of income for you.

Originally Posted by PlatyPius
I'm looking at retail space on Monday. It isn't an ideal spot, but it's close to campus, near a bar (w00t!), on the same street as the DePauw Nature Park, and is only $350/month, utilities included. I'll also get the first few months free, so I can get established. There's also a bed and breakfast 5 feet from the door, so I think it's a foregone conclusion that I'll rent bikes. The catch is, it's in a basement, and accessible via 4 steps down a somewhat narrow 'alley".
How much does better retail space cost? The location won't exactly attract people and it will annoy people getting bicycles in and out of the place.

Originally Posted by PlatyPius
I'm still deciding on what primary bike brand to carry. There's a possibility that DePauw freshmen will all get Kona Africa Project bikes as part of tuition.
Would they be buying these bikes through you? Kona seems to provide good value for the money. Jamis too.

Originally Posted by PlatyPius
There are only 2 bike shops in Terre Haute, and they both suck.
How big is Terre Haute? How well do these two shops do there? College students are cheap and many may already have bicycles. If people drive to Terre Haute, some people also drive to Indianapolis.

I'd suggest looking at how well "near-by" bicycle shops in a similar or worse situation are doing.

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Old 10-21-09, 04:43 PM
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Location means everything for a business.
Kroger Food Stores study locations for TEN Years before opening a New Store.
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Old 10-21-09, 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Location means everything for a business.
Kroger Food Stores study locations for TEN Years before opening a New Store.
So what? He doesn't have a grocery store chain. Businesses also can overspend for real-estate.
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Old 10-21-09, 04:58 PM
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Originally Posted by njkayaker
So what? He doesn't have a grocery store chain. Businesses also can overspend for real-estate.
Location means everything.
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Old 10-21-09, 05:05 PM
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Old 10-21-09, 05:08 PM
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Locate near a high traffic area such as a Busy Food store.
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Old 10-21-09, 05:08 PM
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Old 10-21-09, 05:10 PM
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Old 10-21-09, 05:40 PM
  #11  
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You may seriously want to look at the opions you have and take a long look at the economy of the area. I posted earlier today a bike shop in my area closing, It was a large shop with a large customer base but just could not survive the local economy.

As of the census[8] of 2000, there are 185,776 people, with a total urban population of 299,290[9], 76,247 households, and 46,205 families residing in the city.

Winston Salem has been hit hard recently, The job base here is, Tobacco (Lay-off due to government restriction) Furniture (Production moving to China) Textile ( Production moving to China) Dell Computers built a new factory in 2006 after recieving 52 million dollars in incentives from both the state and local governments. Plant closed October 1 2009 ( Production moved to Mexico).
current market and unenployment in the Winston Salem Area,
2009 05 2310.5
2009 06 1810·4
2009 07 1910.2

Just thinking you may need to check out a lot of things about your market before risking your investment.
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Old 10-21-09, 05:45 PM
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More demographics

Population in July 2008: 10,145. Population change since 2000: +2.7%



Males: 4,751 (46.8%)
Females: 5,394 (53.2%)

Median resident age: 27.1 years
Indiana median age: 35.2 years
Zip codes: 46135.


Estimated median household income in 2007: $32,646 (it was $29,798 in 2000)
Greencastle: $32,646
Indiana: $47,448

Estimated per capita income in 2007: $17,421
Greencastle: $17,421
Indiana: $23,805

Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $107,737 (it was $82,700 in 2000)
Greencastle: $107,737
Indiana: $122,900

Mean prices in 2007: All housing units: $135,027; Detached houses: $145,504; Townhouses or other attached units: $120,055; In 2-unit structures: $141,797; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $110,004; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $136,721; Mobile homes: $21,053
Recent home sales, real estate maps, and home value estimator for zip code 46135
Greencastle, IN residents, houses, and apartments details

Add your B&M business listing here for free. Over a million visitors/week. Get a huge advantage over your competition

Profiles of local businesses:
Superior Tanning LLC
Races in Greencastle:
White Non-Hispanic (93.2%)
Black (2.7%)
Hispanic (1.4%)
Two or more races (1.1%)
Other race (0.7%)
American Indian (0.6%)

2008 cost of living index in Greencastle: 80.2 (low, U.S. average is 100)

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/city/Greenc...#ixzz0UcK8ecvq
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Old 10-21-09, 05:56 PM
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1.)Keep the place clean.
2.)Make everyone feel welcome.
3.)Forget you have friends.difficult however trust me on this one.That was my biggest problem with so many people I stopped doing work for the general public.All your "buddies" want it free or close to it.
4.)Be ready to make little to nothing for awhile.In addition to maybe picking up a part time job after hours.

Be nice but never forget it is a business.Good luck.
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Old 10-21-09, 06:33 PM
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Old 10-21-09, 06:45 PM
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Could you possibly put a rack out front and place bikes you hane for sale in it or some ratty *** on the wall out front also making the roll up door a cover for a real nice glass door and use it for the entrance for your shop.

By the way are you hiring?
I have no tools and only experience on my bikes but I am a blast to hang out with and I do have training in the rental repo game could also run security like tossing the drunk colledge kids!

I say go for it and remember the only place sucess comes before work is in the dictionary! Good luck!
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Old 10-21-09, 06:45 PM
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Do you have ANY 1st floor access? Is that garage door going to be yours? If so - make it the entrance.
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Old 10-21-09, 06:46 PM
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also wondering if there is an apartment there for you to live in as the shop takes off?
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Old 10-21-09, 07:00 PM
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tmi

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Old 10-21-09, 08:41 PM
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you can also use the elevator for the Uber Clyde customers!
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Old 10-21-09, 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Big Pete
you can also use the elevator for the Uber Clyde customers!
Like myself?
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Old 10-21-09, 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Location means everything.
The OP also has to crunch his numbers and see if his business is viable: based on the number of riders of relevant bikes in his sales area he has to see what the total market is per year, and then estimate what % he might get.
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Old 10-22-09, 12:08 AM
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My dad's shop is the only bike specific shop in a town of 60,000. He got lucky I guess. There's sporting goods stores with crap bikes too, but he actually knows what he's doing.
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Old 10-22-09, 06:36 AM
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Near a popular rail-trail? Try renting bikes as well.
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Old 10-22-09, 06:59 AM
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Here is a link to 30th Century Bicycle in Iowa City, IA. Read up on some of their background information. I love their business plan. They bill themselves as a transportation/commuter oriented shop. They have a good mix of new and used bikes. They are using a blog as their main point of contact.

Another shop that does something similar is Longleaf Bicycles out of Wilmington, NC he picked a niche market and his website is also a blog.

The area I live in has 2 bike shops and a crapload of big box retailers. One caters only to high end MTB and Roadies. The other is a bit more family oriented and sells cruisers as well as higher end road and mtb's.

It may take you a while to find you niche but stick with it and follow your dream!

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

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Old 10-22-09, 08:57 AM
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I would think that most college students are dependent on their parents for tuition and living expenses. If parents pay for private liberal arts undergraduate education, that leaves very little for bicycle purchases. Most students learn that bikes get stolen and beater bikes are the norm. The bike club is different. But that wouldn't be enough to support a local bike shop.
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